Device for distributing liquids



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Patented Aug. 9, 1927.

UNITED STATES ELDON L. LARISON, F ANACONDA, MONTANA.

i i DEVICE FOR DISTBIBIITING LIQUIDS.

Application filed June 28, 1926. Serial No. 119,228.

This invention relates to a device for distributing liquids uniformly and in a comparatively finely divided condition. In its more specific aspect the invention relates to a device for the distribution of corrosive liquids or liquids which ma contain solids or deposit solids out of solution, as for exam Ie, the distribution of acid over the pac ing of towers used in the sulfuric acid industry.

It is the general object of the invention to provide a device of unitary structure which is rugged in construction, effective and yet simple in operation, and of such design that it easily may be cleaned while in position or removed and replaced.

The difficulties inherent in such operations as supplying acid to towers, and the like, have led designers in general to consider as essential in a distributing device three characteristics, viz, proper spread of acid, a sight feed by which means operators readily can observe the flow of acid entering the towers, and design of the distributor facilitating easy cleaning.

In some cases .a multiplicity of small pipes are conducted from a pan into a tower at intervals of six to twelve inches apart. Such.

arrangement is expensive to construct .and ditlicult to clean.

A device much used for distribution is that known as a splash-plate. essentially of a nozzle located a short distance above aplate and has virtue in that it a stream of liquid emerges from the nozzle and impinges on the plate, it will be broken up into drops which bound from the plate and tend to distribute themselves over the packing of the tower. The effectiveness of 40 this device depends almost entirely upon the character of the stream of liquid leaving the nozzle and striking the plate; if the stream be full and swift the liquid will be broken up well and uniformly thrown over a consid- 4 erable area, whereas, if it be a slow moving and thin stream less effective distribution will result.

This device ordinarily is connected to a pan from which acid flows to several such splash-plates through rather long and necessarily tortuous pipes. lVhen cleaning becomes necessary the operator cannot pass a cleaning rod through such a pipe, but usually must remove the bolts from a flange un- It consists ion and take out thesplash plate for cleanmg. Vvith such devices it has become customary to use nozzles having openings far larger than are required to carry the flow of liquid used, in order that obstructions in the pipe and nozzle may be minimized, and hence are not efficient in distributing the liquid. i

More particularly, therefore, the invention has for one of its objects the provision of a device of the splash-plate type comprising a straight conduit or supply pipe for conducting the liquid from a receiving pan located above the tower through a luted opening into the top of the tower and terminatmg in a nozzle bored out smoothly of the exact dimension to allow the expulsion of the desired amount of liquid.

The above and other objects will appear more clearly from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the inventive idea and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view oi the device,

Figure 2 is a vertical elevation of the cleaning rod, and

Figure 3 is a broken sectional view of a portion of a tower showing the relation of the distributing devices thereto.

Referring to the drawings, the device consists of a straight conduit or supply pipe 1; at a point a suitable distance below the upper extremity of which is fixed the receiving pan or' gauge box 2 which is provided with the overflow pi e 3 extending from a point just below the iip of the receiving pan to a point just above the lute 4 fixed on the supply pipe at the point where the latter passes thru the opening in the tower. A cap 5 with serrated edge is placed over the upper extremity of the supply pipe serving as a trap. A nozzle 6 bored out smoothly of exact dimension to carry the desired amount of liquid is located within the bore of the conduit at its lower extremity. A splash-plate 7 is located below and at a suitable distance from the nozzle as for example about six inches therefrom, and is supported by rods or bars 8 from the conduit. A cleaning rod 9 of diameter very slightly less than that of the nozzle is provided, Figure 2.

Referring to Figure 3, 10 represents an opening in the fixed top portion of a tower. 11 represents the annular depression into which the lute 4 depends. 12 is a sealing liquid contained in the depression 11.

In operation an amount of liquid is run into the receiving pan so that its level is almost to the lip of the overflow pipe.- The liquid passes down the conduit and thru the nozzle, impinges on the plate and is distributed over the packing in the tower. The

blocking of the nozzle, as by foreign matter or accumulation of scale deposit therein, readily may be detected by the operator, the cap removed from the conduit and the cleaning rod passed down thru the nozzle thereby restoring its normal opening. In case the obstruction is too hard to be moved by the cleaning rod the whole apparatus may he lifted out of the tower, another unit installed, and the obstruction removed from the nozzle end at will.

The device may be made of materials adapted to resist the corrosive action of the liquids to be distributed; for instance, for distributing chamber acid the material of construction may be lead. an alloy of iron and silicon, or other suitable acid-resisting material. Likewise the members may be sheathed in a material adapted to resistcorrosive action of the liquid.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein described as various changes may be made in the several parts, their relative size, shape and location, without departure from the invention.

/ I claim:

1. A device for distributing liquids comprising as a unitary structure a straight conduit having a nozzle at one end thereof, a splash-plate positioned in front of said nozzle and supported from said conduit, a receptacle surrounding the other extremity of said conduit and fixed thereto, and means for removably supporting said unitary structure in co-operation with an apparatus for contacting gas and liquid.

2. A device for distributing liquids comprising as a unitary structure a gauge box, a single straight nozzled conduit havin one end thereof fixed in said gauge box, a sp lashplate fixed to said conduit and positioned in front of said nozzle, and a lute fixed to said conduit intermediate the ends thereof.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

ELDGN L. LARISON. 

